Shop Cats

[plainjane]

So...In the area near a shop that I go to on a regular basis, (couple times a week), there are two stray or dumped cats that I've seen hanging around.

The people at the shop have no interest in bringing the cats in, but they do feed the cats, (with the food that I buy to feed them). I am honestly surprised that animal control hasn't nabbed them yet.

They are both beautiful black kitties...One I believe is older than the other, because I remember seeing him/her middle of last year. The other is one that I've just recently seen hanging around, and seems a lot more people-friendly.

In fact, he's so people friendly, I was able to coax him to me and get him into a carrier to take home.

I think he's still a kitten, but it's hard to tell. He's a very small male...I don't think he'll get too big...He has been hiding under my bed, he's shy but loves to be pet and will roll over so you can scratch his belly.

One of his legs is a stump, as well. It appears to be a birth defect. He is sooooo funny when he hops around.

I have a feeling that this is my fourth, (and last for a few years), cat...I don't think I'd be able to give him up after having him a few months...I can just tell.

I don't think I'll be able to catch the other one, considering he/she will not get anywhere near me, and he's/she's been out there for at least a couple years, I think. She/He also has a bad habit of running in front of cars

...Did that to me the other day and I almost had an accident avoiding her/him. (Better my car than a cat that can't be repaired!) I have a sinking feeling he's/she's going to eventually get hit. I was considering maybe putting out a trap, but am not sure about the laws and regulations in regards to doing that in a non-residential area. Also, I wouldn't want her/him stuck in a trap if some kids came past it and started harrassing him/her.

I don't want to call animal control to come get him/her, because it's likely he'll/she'll just be euthanized.

I don't know what to do about him...or her...I want to say him, but I don't know what sex the cat is for sure...Never been close enough to tell, (and I'm horribly near-sighted).

Anyway...thought I'd share. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

 

[ldg]

You are an angel for rescuing your tripod!

I'm sure you're keeping him separated from your other kitties until you can get him to a vet.... all will be well, though at the very least he probably needs to be de-wormed and perhaps de-flea-ed.

We did a lot of trapping for businesses in our area. At the very least you can get the kitty spayed or neutered. Here's how we'd go about it....

Talk to the shop people. Let them know you want to get the kitty spayed/neutered so it can't produce more homeless kittens. If they're not on board, there's not a lot you can do, but we never had that problem - most were just thankful to have someone help out. If they are on board, you have to work this according to your schedule and their schedule. Actually, the way we worked it was if it was a shop that closed at 5:00PM or so, we'd go put food out each night at around 7:00pm. If it was a restaurant, we'd ask them to put the food down at that time and leave it out for one hour. The kitties get used to the schedule.

Find someplace to borrow or rent a trap. We're in a rural area, so the vets all have them to lend, but the shelters will rent them. Most of them for a deposit that you get back when you return the trap.

Work out a deal with your vet or find a low-cost spay/neuter place. Some of them work clinic hours only at specific times - we could never mesh with that schedule, so we worked out a deal with our vet. But if you're going to go with a clinic, then it all has to be timed as to when the cat can be taken for the spay/neuter.

Here's a link to trapping and transport tips - scroll down below the pic, and after the info you need, don't need to bother with the rest, it's a long post: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...27&postcount=4

You can search for shelters/rescues/low-cost spay/neuter places in your area at:

http://www.pets911.com
http://www.petfinder.com - just type in your zip, search on "cat" and scroll through all the postings. Each cat has an affiliated org and each org has a contact sheet. You can e-mail and call around - see if they can take the cat, if they have a trap you can borrow or rent, if they know of a low-cost spay/neuter place, etc.

You can also fill out the form to have anyone or any org in the Alley Cat Allies Feral Friends network e-mailed to you: http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=355

So you've got a trap, and you know where and when to take the cat. You've got kitty eating on a schedule that works with that.... have the shop not put out food the day before you're going to trap. The next day, put out the trap, ready to go (you can always just drape cardboard over the trap, rather than sticks and leaves, given the urban/suburban environment. Use a REALLY stinky food!

And wait, some distance away. Have a book with you. Maybe wait in the car and just check periodically - just make sure not to get too close.

When kitty is in the trap, you're good to go.

If you must trap at night and the clinic or vet isn't open until the next morning, have some place you can store trap and kitty. Bathroom, garage, porch, whatever. Put a tarp down before you put the trap down. Make sure you give kitty food and water (though kitty may not want to eat, it's important water is available).

for wanting to help!

Laurie

 

[plainjane]

Originally Posted by LDG

You are an angel for rescuing your tripod!

I'm sure you're keeping him separated from your other kitties until you can get him to a vet.... all will be well, though at the very least he probably needs to be de-wormed and perhaps de-flea-ed.

We did a lot of trapping for businesses in our area. At the very least you can get the kitty spayed or neutered. Here's how we'd go about it....

Talk to the shop people. Let them know you want to get the kitty spayed/neutered so it can't produce more homeless kittens. If they're not on board, there's not a lot you can do, but we never had that problem - most were just thankful to have someone help out. If they are on board, you have to work this according to your schedule and their schedule. Actually, the way we worked it was if it was a shop that closed at 5:00PM or so, we'd go put food out each night at around 7:00pm. If it was a restaurant, we'd ask them to put the food down at that time and leave it out for one hour. The kitties get used to the schedule.

Find someplace to borrow or rent a trap. We're in a rural area, so the vets all have them to lend, but the shelters will rent them. Most of them for a deposit that you get back when you return the trap.

Work out a deal with your vet or find a low-cost spay/neuter place. Some of them work clinic hours only at specific times - we could never mesh with that schedule, so we worked out a deal with our vet. But if you're going to go with a clinic, then it all has to be timed as to when the cat can be taken for the spay/neuter.

Here's a link to trapping and transport tips - scroll down below the pic, and after the info you need, don't need to bother with the rest, it's a long post: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...27&postcount=4

You can search for shelters/rescues/low-cost spay/neuter places in your area at:

http://www.pets911.com
http://www.petfinder.com - just type in your zip, search on "cat" and scroll through all the postings. Each cat has an affiliated org and each org has a contact sheet. You can e-mail and call around - see if they can take the cat, if they have a trap you can borrow or rent, if they know of a low-cost spay/neuter place, etc.

You can also fill out the form to have anyone or any org in the Alley Cat Allies Feral Friends network e-mailed to you: http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=355

So you've got a trap, and you know where and when to take the cat. You've got kitty eating on a schedule that works with that.... have the shop not put out food the day before you're going to trap. The next day, put out the trap, ready to go (you can always just drape cardboard over the trap, rather than sticks and leaves, given the urban/suburban environment. Use a REALLY stinky food!

And wait, some distance away. Have a book with you. Maybe wait in the car and just check periodically - just make sure not to get too close.

When kitty is in the trap, you're good to go.

If you must trap at night and the clinic or vet isn't open until the next morning, have some place you can store trap and kitty. Bathroom, garage, porch, whatever. Put a tarp down before you put the trap down. Make sure you give kitty food and water (though kitty may not want to eat, it's important water is available).

for wanting to help!

Laurie

Thank you for all the information. I will look into finding a trap to borrow.

I took him to the vet today and he's a-okay. He has been flea-treated and dewormed.

 

[ldg]

JUST to make sure... the vet did tell you he'll need a follow-up de-worming treatment in three weeks? They usually have round worm, and the meds only kill the adults. The life cycle is such that the treatment needs to be applied again in three weeks in order to get the next batch.

If kitty is sharing litter boxes with your existing kitties, it is a REALLY good idea to scoop as often as possible, and to empty the litter entirely each week, toss it, bleach the boxes, and then put new litter in each week for the next month. It's also a really good idea to get a poop sample of the new kitty to the vet about three weeks after that second round of meds to make sure it's clear. It depends upon what meds were given, but some round worm have developed immunity to at least Drontal. We fought for many months - actually, I think it was almost a year, before we finally got rid of it. (But we were rescuing ferals, adopted five kitties in the span of two years and fostered a lot of feral kittens during that time).

But just wanted to give you a heads up in case the vet didn't.

Good luck and I hope it won't be a problem!

Laurie